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Average ND offense that they faced was 69th in the country. 8 of the 12 teams they played were ranked 60 or worse - bottom half of the NCAA. The best offensive team they played was Oklahoma who got the snot beat out of them by Texas A&M.

Notre Dame was beat on the lines by a bigger, stronger, faster team. Their defense was a paper tiger. Going 12-0, they deserved to be there. But their schedule on paper looked a lot better than it really was. It showed tonight.

Their defense was a paper tiger. Going 12-0, they deserved to be there. But their schedule on paper looked a lot better than it really was. It showed tonight.

Good comments and research. The bigger question is...just because you go 12-0...do you really deserve to be there?
I think most everyone knows the other team should have been Oregon, TAMU, UGA, or maybe KSU.

you pretty much had to put them in the national title game under the current system, but i'll be glad after next year is over and then we go to a system where you have to beat likely a top 5 team to make it to the national title game.

those stats even make it sillier that teo swept the defensive player of the year awards (and the maxwell and walter camp) going up against crap competition based solely off tipped interceptions and notre dame's record. he goes up against bama and he doesnt get off blocks and when he's unblocked he doesnt make any plays. never has a player's impact been more overrated than his this season.

I hate Notre Dame but let me fair. Their schedule wasn't a cupcake schedule. They just played cupcake teams on offense. Their defense was a paper defense. It looked better on paper than it really was because of who they played. On the other side, they did play some good defensive teams - BYU, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford.

Their schedule passes the eye test and they did go 12-0. However, numbers point out that their D just wasn't as good as people thought.

i meant if there was a playoff this year and they had to face a top 5 team they would have lost, but sure they deserved to be in the title game under the current format. oklahoma and stanford were quality wins, but i dont think they are what you would expect to be the best wins on a national championship caliber team. stanford ended up playing a different qb when they went on to have 4 straight wins over ranked teams at the time to end the regular season and oklahoma proved they werent a top 10 quality team.